Straughter knows his next destination

After a season in which he averaged 13.8 points plus 8.0 rebounds a game and earned All-Big 8 Conference honors, Cosumnes River College (CRC) forward David Straughter has secured a scholarship to attend Bellevue University in Nebraska and play basketball for Coach Shane Paben.

It's a program that has earned entry into the NAIA national tournament seven years running and one already with a number of northern California talents -- via Fresno City College, San Joaquin Delta College, Sierra College and Los Medanos College -- on the roster. That's courtesy of Paben's first-year assistant coaches, Mike Marcial and Sultan Toles-Bey, who developed ties by both graduating from Fresno City College and then Sacramento State.

"They've been following me all year," the 6-foot-5 Straughter explained. "I've been talking with one of the assistant coaches and I liked it that he was concerned about my personal well being [not just basketball]."

 As to what Bruin fans should expect from him next season, Straughter offered, "bringing energy, working hard and trying to get a win. I do a little bit of everything -- dribbling, shooting free throws, all-around defense."

He's expecting to play as a stretch four and to major in psychology with the goal of "wanting to work with kids as a counselor to impact their life in a positive way.".

Straughter cites his mother as a strong influence. "There are so many times where she provided me with support and motivation, keeping me going."

Making it a family affair, it was with his grandfather when basketball first took hold. "When I was younger, I'd watch basketball with my grandfather. We would watch the Kings all the time."

His takeaway from a very successful CRC season is "I met a lot of great guys this year. We really gelled and I enjoyed everyone. Our chemistry made it fun. I loved going to practice because my teammates made it the best." The Hawks went 23-8 overall, 12-2 in league, winning the regular season conference title.

Here's CRC Assistant Coach Nick Podesta on Straughter: "Dave has always been an unselfish player for us, the consummate team player. He'll definitely be a tough one to replace, especially his personality! He's one of a kind."

Asked for what he held as his best moments on the court, Straughter supplied two. "One was back in AAU ball against [Team] Chaos out of Fresno. Playing with my best friend Mitchell Love (who became a Cosumnes teammate), I had missed a game-winning shot the game before and I wanted another chance in this game. [Near the end] Mitchell said 'I got this' and took a shot. I thought he would miss but he made it. It was 'my boy!'"

His second anecdote is also about a current teammate. "This year we had  Daylon Potts on our team and he's one of the most exciting individuals I ever played with. Against Sierra [College], he made a basket without a defender near him and screamed 'and1' -- we still talk about it."

It's telling that neither item Straughter related was about him with a game-winning shot or a rebound to seal a victory. That says a lot about his character and what Bellevue University is getting.